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A28 u.s. news
Dialuna 2 november 2020

Under Trump, citizenship and visa agency focuses on fraud

ployment-based green cards or are working at the job they
jumped to 14.5 months in listed is “an investment in
an 11-month period ending the safety and security of this
Aug. 31, up from 6.8 months country."
in the 2016 fiscal year. For
citizenship, it rose to 9.1 As costs from anti-fraud work
months from 5.6 months. rose, agency revenue took
a hit after Trump ended the
An analysis of all visa catego- Obama-era Deferred Action
ries by the American Immi- for Childhood Arrivals pro-
gration Lawyers Association gram, which shields young
found long waits doubled to people from deportation, and
10 months in the 2019 fiscal Temporary Protected Status,
year from five years earlier. given to 400,000 people es-
caping natural disasters and
Natividad Rodriguez, 85, has civil strife.
been waiting since July 2019
for a citizenship interview, Fiscal challenges came to
the final step before the oath. a head in May when US-
(AP) — The head of the cial pressures mounted this "This administration has un- The Chicago woman and CIS threatened furloughs to
agency handling citizen- summer as USCIS narrowly dertaken a thorough revamp- Mexican native had hoped to tackle a projected $1.2 billion
ship and visa applications averted furloughs for 70% of ing of the agency to restore its vote this year. shortfall. The agency didn't
was surprised when he its roughly 20,000 employ- congressional mission of en- “We have been waiting a long need the money, Edlow said,
faced blowback for cut- ees. suring that benefits are only time,” said daughter Ana Ma- because application fees re-
ting a reference to the awarded to those who are ria Fuentes, who helped her bounded more than expected
U.S. being a “nation of Curbing legal immigration genuinely eligible under law mother apply. “It’s too much as offices reopened in June
immigrants” in its mis- has been a priority for Presi- and that, ensuring in admit- time.” from coronavirus shutdowns
sion statement. The son dent Donald Trump as he's ting them, no harm is done and contracts were reviewed
of a Peruvian immigrant reshaped the immigration to our economic or national In their defense, administra- for cost savings.
added language about system, arguably more than security interests,” he said. tion officials note they ap-
“protecting Americans” any predecessor. He’s thrilled proved more than 800,000 USCIS has been without a
instead. supporters with an “America Some critics say USCIS citizenship applications in Senate-confirmed director
first” message and infuriated hasn't provided enough evi- fiscal 2019, the highest since since Cissna left in May 2019
L. Francis Cissna argued that critics who call his signature dence of widespread fraud. 2008. in a purge of Homeland Se-
America is indisputably a na- domestic issue insular, xeno- Even Louis D. Crocetti Jr., curity leaders. Attorneys have
tion of immigrants but that phobic and even racist. first director of USCIS' But the administration also challenged the legitimacy of
U.S. Citizenship and Im- anti-fraud unit who sup- is trying to reduce applica- acting Homeland Security
migration Services' mission Before the election, The As- ports Trump's policies and tions. For example, USCIS leaders in a bid to block new
statement wasn't the place sociated Press is examining calls fraud common, says the last year started requiring USCIS rules, with mixed re-
to say so. Joseph Edlow, who several Trump immigration agency should release more that no spaces on forms be sults.
now oversees the agency, said policies, including r estric- findings. left blank, even if a question
he hasn’t thought about the tions on international stu- doesn't apply, like a middle A judge in September halted
2018 kerfuffle, but it crys- dents, a retreat from Amer- "If you don’t do that, how name. Agency officials say a 20% average increase in visa
tallized for many how the ica’s humanitarian role, a can you really justify getting employees were taking too and citizenship fees, saying in
Trump administration has virtual shutdown of asylum the millions of dollars and much time filling in incom- part that two top Homeland
changed the government's and now curbing legal immi- continuing your operation?” plete applications. Blank Security officials were ap-
approach to legal immigra- gration. said Crocetti, who retired in spaces have led to rejections, pointed illegally. Edlow, US-
tion. 2011. attorneys say. An American CIS deputy director of policy,
Trump failed to get Congress Immigration Lawyers Asso- has been running operations
USCIS, established with the to support cuts to the sys- The changes are evident in ciation survey this year found since February.
Department of Homeland tem of immigrants bringing USCIS offices. Workers who nearly 200 examples nation-
Security in 2003, is emphasiz- over relatives, but Stephen decide on citizenship and wide. Applications also were While some agency employ-
ing fraud detection, enforce- Miller, a top Trump adviser, permanent residency appli- rejected for writing “none” ees support the focus on in-
ment and vetting those seek- said moving to a more “mer- cations in the San Diego of- or “not applicable” instead of creased vetting, others say
ing to work, live or become it based” system, based on fice saw their workload grow “N/A,” which most instruc- some changes are unneces-
U.S. citizens. Applicants, at- skills, would be a priority if about 20% when officials or- tions said to use. sary and may discourage peo-
torneys and employees call it the president is reelected. dered all applicants for em- The administration checks ple from seeking legal status.
overkill, while immigration ployment-based green cards up on those who clear the
critics say it's overdue. New Democrat Joe Biden offers a be interviewed. hurdles. On a recent after- “Our job is to keep the doors
Trump administration rules sharp contrast: preserve fam- Edlow said the blanket inter- noon, all cubicles in the an- open but safely secured. The
range from making asylum ily-based immigration and view requirement has been ti-fraud wing of the USCIS way that it is being admin-
protections more difficult “streamline” naturalization scrapped and whether such San Diego office were empty istered now, it doesn’t seem
to get to disqualifying more for green-card holders. He applicants are called in de- because its nine investiga- like the doors are open,” said
low-income applicants from wants a path to citizenship pends on the case. tors were knocking on visa- Gary Thurman, an employee
green cards. for about 11 million people holders' doors, including one in Missouri speaking as vice
in the U.S. illegally, which The agency is bringing back who raised flags because the president of the American
Processing times are lon- would require congressional Trump's rule that dramati- spouse was living in Georgia. Federation of Government
ger, and the agency’s back- support. cally expands criteria for de- Employees Local 3928 South.
log of cases stands at 5 mil- nying green cards to those Nationwide, anti-fraud unit Edlow said he's focused on
lion. Making it tougher to Miller told the AP that US- receiving taxpayer-funded staffing has roughly doubled better training and technol-
get permission to live and CIS was plagued by a "huge benefits. The U.S. Supreme to about 2,000 under Trump, ogy, including a transition to
work in America has had amount of fraud” and its Court decided in a 5-4 vote in from less than 1,000. The electronic files.
consequences for USCIS workforce “came to see it- January that the policy could unit projects 249,335 re-
itself: its roughly $5 billion self as a representative of the take effect, but enforcement quests to investigate fraud in “Is it going to happen over-
annual budget is funded al- benefit-seeker rather than the was briefly halted by a federal fiscal 2021, up from 119,424 night? No, it's not," Edlow
most entirely by application representative of the Ameri- judge due to the coronavirus. in 2016. Edlow says checking said. "I do want to get back
fees, which have dwindled can people.” if people are “actually mar- to a point where we’re flush
with the stricter rules. Finan- Processing times for em- ried when they say they are” with money.”